February 4, 2013

Its been amost 1 month since getting the Nokia Lumia 820, and firstly;
WOW! The Lumia 920 has been getting a lot of intention, but the Lumia
820 is definitely not to be ignored. It sports a gorgeous 4.3″ AMOLED
ClearBlack 480p screen, that makes web browsing, watching videos and
playing games a delight. The only downfall is that it does not sport
Gorilla Glass, and as such, is susceptible to scratches. (I ordered
screen protectors the other day, but found one last night). It has a
nice form factor, not as premium as the Fabula design, but yet doesn’t
feel cheap.

The Lumia 820 has a great 8MP, f/2.2 rear camera, that takes some
impressive shots. And with support for recording in 1080p, its
definitely a big jump from what we saw in the the Lumia 800. It also
features a front facing VGA camera for Video calling and self portraits,
but it is a bit disappointing.

On the connectivity side, it has Bluetooth 3.0, Secure NFC, WiFi,
GPS, and an array of Mobile Network bands, including LTE. You will also
get a microUSB port for charging and media transfer, as well as the
standardised 3.5MM headphone jack. There are 3 physical buttons, and
three capacative buttons on the device; Power/Lock, Volume Rocker and a
Camera key are the physical ones, withe Back, Home and Search being the
capacatives.

Looking to the inside, we have 8GB internal memory, with a further
7GB available through Skydrive. Another great feature of the Lumia 820,
is MicroSD support, for up to 64GB cards. Sadly, the external storage is
for media only, so some users may find 8GB a bit measly for their app
needs, but it should be fine for mass market.

The device is powered by a 1.5 GHz Dual-Core Snapdragon S4 processor,
with an Adreno 225 for the GPU. Providing the juice for this power
house, is a 1650 mAh BP-5T battery.

Being a second generation Lumia, it runs on Microsoft’s Windows Phone
8 OS. It feels a lot more fluid than my Lumia 800, and the screen makes
the live tiles look amazing. With a good app offering, and deep social
integration, the Lumia 820 is a great contender in today’s smart phone
world. Being a Nokia Lumia, you also get exclusive access to various
apps and services, such as Nokia Music (a free music streaming service),
Nokia Drive (free voice guided navigation), Nokia City Lens (augmented
reality Point Of Interest browser) and more.

All in all, the Nokia Lumia 820 is a killer phone. If you are looking
for an affordable upgrade from your current device, this phone is not to
be overlooked. With the solid build quality Nokia is renowned for,
their exclusive apps, microSD support, and interchangeable covers, you
will be happy with your choice. Of course if Photography is more your
style, perhaps take a look at the Lumia 920.